Contemporary Western
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Contemporary Western is a sub-genre of the
Development
As early as 1929, there was talk about the need for change in Western films in order to stay relevant in then-modern America ("Tom Mix, Hoot Gibson and Ken Maynard must swap horses for aeroplanes or go to the old actors' home."). However, the rise of the contemporary Western is credited to two specific reasons: 1) contemporary setting enabled the use of a higher number of potential plot-ideas, which "included everything from modern crooks and evil Nazis to high-tech cars and machine guns"; 2) Gene Autry, a famous Western film star, was also a famous singer and performer. In order to use his reputation as much as possible, Republic Pictures decided that it was best for Autry to play himself, thus moving the films from the Old West into a contemporary setting. Some earlier actors, such as Ken Maynard and Hoot Gibson, sometimes starred in the films featuring modern setting, but Autry was the first actor starring in such films on a regular basis.[4]: 109 Autry's films were also described as "crime dramas in contemporary Western setting".[5]: 100
Other early examples of the genre were films starring Roy Rogers which included contemporary settings with heavy reliance on traditional western characters and imagery, such as Silver Spurs (1943). His films made after 1947 are described as "almost without exception, modern-day adventure films set in the American west".[6]: 90, 153 Republic Pictures, which distributed a significant number of Autry's and Rogers's films, soon specialized in the contemporary Western subgenre, an example of which is also Paramount's Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940).[6]: 153
Beginning in the postwar era, radio dramas such as
The subgenre can also be seen in television in shows such as
Many space Westerns and science fiction Westerns can be classed within the neo-Western genre, particularly if the science fiction elements are of secondary importance to the Western characteristics of the plotlines. Some well-known examples include the original TV series Star Trek (1966–1969) and the Joss Whedon film Serenity (2005).[11] Other kinds of science fiction Westerns, such as the film Mad Max (1979), have also become popular.
Neo-Westerns - setting, motif and themes
Some neo-Westerns still take place in the
The neo-Western has three identifying themes. First is the lack of rules, with morals guided by the character's or audience's instincts of right and wrong rather than by governance. The second is characters searching for justice. The third theme, characters feeling remorse, connects the neo-Western to the broader
List of contemporary Westerns
This list is not exhaustive. It includes major films and television labelled contemporary Western, neo-Western, post-Western, or urban Western. The list highlights the media released to illustrate the development of the concept over time.
Films
- Hidden Valley (1932)[14]
- Thunder Over Texas (1934)
- Under Western Stars (1938)[4]: 114
- Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940)[15]: 58
- Man from Cheyenne (1942)[6]: 23
- Silver Spurs (1943)[6]: 153
- Bells of San Angelo (1947)[16]: 19
- Springtime in the Sierras (1947)[17]
- North of the Great Divide (1950)[6]: 90
- Heart of the Rockies (1951)[6]: 90
- South of Caliente (1951)[6]: 90
- Pals of the Golden West (1951)[6]: 91
- Lonely are the Brave(1962)
- Midnight Cowboy (1969)
- Dirty Harry (1971)[18]: 181 [19]: 5
- The Getaway (1972)[20]
- Junior Bonner (1972)[20]
- J. W. Coop (1972)
- Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)[20]
- Hearts of the West (1975)
- Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)[21]
- Comes a Horseman (1978)
- Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)
- Flashpoint (1984)
- Extreme Prejudice (1987)
- Road House (1989)
- El Mariachi (1992)[21]
- Red Rock West (1993)[22]
- Desperado (1995)
- Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
- Lone Star (1996)
- The Way of the Gun (2000)
- Down in the Valley (2005)
- Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004)
- The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)
- Brokeback Mountain (2005)[21]
- Don't Come Knocking (2005)
- No Country for Old Men (2007)
- Gran Torino (2008)[13]: 17-18
- Crazy Heart (2009)
- Out of the Furnace (2013)
- Mystery Road (2013)
- The Rover (2014)
- Blood Father (2016)
- Hell or High Water (2016)[23][21]
- Wind River (2017)[21][24]
- Logan (2017)[21]
- To Hell and Gone (2019)[25]
- Cry Macho (2021)[26]
- The Last Victim (2021)
- Nope (2022)[27]
Television
- Cade's County (1971–1972)
- Walker, Texas Ranger (1993–2001)
- Breaking Bad (2008–2013)
- Sons of Anarchy (2008–2014)
- Justified (2010–2015)
- Longmire (2012–2017)
- Better Call Saul (2015–2022)
- Mystery Road (2018–present)
- Yellowstone (2018–present)
- Too Old to Die Young (2019)
- Walker (2021–present)
- Joe Pickett (2021–2023)
- Outer Range (2022–present)
- Dark Winds (2022–present)
- Justified: City Primeval (2023)
Video games
- Full Throttle (1995)
- Total Overdose (2005)
- Chili Con Carnage (2007)
- Wet (2009)
- Call of Juarez: The Cartel (2011)
- The Last of Us (2013)
- Grand Theft Auto V (2013)
- Far Cry 5 (2018)
- Days Gone (2019)
References
- ^ OCLC 57484960.
- ISBN 978-1-4422-7243-9.
- )
- ^ ISBN 9780816531547.
- ISBN 9780582437364.
- ^ ISBN 9780879725259.
- ISBN 0-19-507678-8.
- ^ )
- ^ a b c Teti, Julia (January 2, 2018). "How Taylor Sheridan's Films Define The Neo-Western". The Playlist. Archived from the original on 2020-04-12. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
- ^ "Contemporary Western: An interview with Vince Gilligan". News. United States: Local iQ. 2013-03-27. Archived from the original on 2013-04-03. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
- ^ Lynley (May 11, 2017). "Westerns, Anti-Westerns, and Neo-Westerns". Slap Happy Larry. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
another gun-happy neo-western, 'Justified' has been true to its Elmore Leonard roots
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7864-7928-3.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: date and year (link - ^ Grieve, Laura (August 16, 2023). "Western Round Up: "B" Movie Sampler – Vol.2". Classic Movie Hub.
- ISBN 9781476671772.
- National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. 1947.
- ^ "Springtime in the Sierras (1947)". 10 March 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-7486-2140-8.
- ISBN 978-1-4766-2351-1.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-85773-046-6.
- ^ a b c d e f Sherlock, Ben (November 10, 2019). "10 Smartest Neo-Westerns To Watch If You Like No Country For Old Men". Screen Rant. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ Pierce-Bohen, Kayleena (January 12, 2023). "The Old Way Is Nicolas Cage's First Western". Screen Rant.
- New York Times. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
Before Taylor Sheridan became the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of the 2016 neo-western "Hell or High Water"...
- ISBN 978-1-4744-4416-3.
- ^ Johnson, Jon (2019-04-19). "'To Hell and Gone': A modern Spaghetti Western that's a pleasure to devour". The Gila Herald. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
- ^ Cotter, Padraig (January 7, 2023). "Clint Eastwood's Movie Wish Could Break An Incredible Director Record". Screen Rant.
- ^ Young, Kai (January 29, 2023). "Nope's Oscar Snub Makes The Movie's Plot Mirror A Real-Life Issue". Screen Rant.